New Zealand Open: Live Streaming set up for Queenstown

The 94th New Zealand Open
Championship will carry live streamed content for the first
time in the tournament’s history.

The National Open,
which will be staged at The Hills and Millbrook Resort this
week from February 27 to March 2, will offer this service
through Dunedin-based sports graphics company, Animation
Research Ltd (ARL).

Golf fans from New Zealand, and
further afield, will be able to visit www.nzopen.co.nz and
watch the action unfold.

In the past ARL has provided its
Virtual Eye Technology, used in golf tournaments around the
world, at no cost to The Hills event.

This year, in the
absence of live TV coverage, they will also produce a live
stream of Holes 15, 17 and 18 on Saturday and Sunday, with
a review show being streamed at 4:30pm on
Thursday and Friday.

“This is definitely a work in
progress,” says ARL CEO Ian Taylor.

“We are shipping
fibre optic cables directly from the last cricket test in
Wellington to Queenstown and our Virtual Eye golf team has
just flown in from The Middle East and will head to
Queenstown at the start of the week.”

Taylor is quick to
point out that this is world leading technology – it will
not be Ryder Cup or Open Championship coverage.

Those
tournaments typically have 50 to 75 cameras on site and the
crew is in the hundreds. ARL will have just three cameras,
one for each hole, and will supplement that with the Virtual
Eye technology they use in other tournaments.

“Whilst we
may be lacking in hardware and sophistication what we are
totally convinced of is that this is one of the most
beautiful golf courses in the world, it is also New
Zealand’s Open and it deserves to be seen.”

Tournament
director Michael Glading said the opportunity came to
fruition reasonably late in the game and it was “an
exciting development for the tournament”.

“I was
talking to Ian Taylor only last week and explaining that the
cost of producing Live TV meant that we weren’t yet in a
financial position to screen the tournament live on
Television,” said Glading.

“In typical Taylor fashion,
he immediately sprung into action, galvanized his troops,
and has now come to us with a proposal that will allow golf
fans to see some live action, and to experience some of the
fun that this unique pro-am format can show.

“It will
not substitute for live television but it’s very exciting
to have an element of live broadcast and to partner with a
company [Virtual Eye] that is at the forefront of this
technology.

“We are thrilled with the energy and
enthusiasm that Virtual Eye has brought to the table to make
this live streaming happen. It is a real case of a Kiwi
company combining a No.8 wire attitude with world-class
technology.”

Although there will be no live television
broadcast the New Zealand Open will be shown on TV in a
one-hour highlights package that will air on Sky TV
on March 6 (starting at 9.30pm on Sky Sport 3).

“The
costs associated with producing a live television broadcast
for golf are well documented and this has resulted in past
New Zealand Opens running at significant financial
losses,” said Glading.

“We aim to build an event that
is sustainable in the long term, which has always been our
goal. Our TV highlight package will do much to satisfy the
TV demand to both local and international audiences, and
this new initiative will certainly add to what we can
deliver in terms of broadcast.”

Kiwis across New Zealand
are encouraged to tune in to www.nzopen.co.nz to
view the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament.

For
more information on live streaming visit: www.nzopen.co.nzA
one hour highlights package of the New Zealand Open
Championship will be aired on Sky Sports during the
following times:- Thursday
March 6 9.30pm Sky Sport 3
(SS3)- Thursday March 6
12am SS3- Friday March 7
Noon SS2- Friday March 7
5.30pm SS4- Saturday March 8
10.30am SS1(Times subject to change. See guides for
times)

NZ Open• A minimum
professional field of 132 players will play the first two
rounds alternately at The Hills and Millbrook before the
second round cut of 60 + ties.• The NZ Open Champion
will be the leading player after 72 holes of stroke
play.

NZ Pro-Am Championship• The
NZ Pro-Am Championship will run concurrently to the main
tournament.• A minimum of 132 amateurs will partner
with a professional and play in a best-ball format.•
The top 35 pro-am teams will progress to round 3 at the
Hills and the top 10 pro-am teams will progress to play in
the final
round.

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